Sailing: Gareloch crew are victorious in Germany

Sailing: Gareloch crew are victorious in Germany

A team of Gareloch One Design sailors from the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club raced against a German team on Lake Starnberg, Bavaria, near Munich over the weekend of September 29 and September 30.

With gust 3-4 winds and a nice warm sun, it was near perfect conditions over the weekend.

International Dragons, a former Olympic class keelboat, had been loaned to the Gareloch crew by local owners for the event.

And these beautiful and agile boats made for a keen weekend of racing.

This regular exchange with FKY (the German Classic Yacht Club) was first raced at Rhu back in 1999 and there has been a good friendship between the clubs ever since.

The first race of the weekend set the tone for this series. The Gareloch crew in the oldest Dragon were squeezed at the start and took an instant penalty.

They were able to bounce back from the early setback, however, when the Germans’ crack helmsman made off to finish first, but in doing so he left his team behind to be harried by the Gareloch crew and with the best combination of places, the Gareloch team won this before going on to win all the subsequent races to finish the weekend 7-0.

The Deutscher Touring Yacht Club at Tutzing ran the event with great professionalism and sponsorship from Budweiser.

The FKY sailors had come from all over Germany and were, as always, warm and hospitable and a strong friendship continues between the clubs.

After the racing, the Gareloch members were surprised to see that they had won all the races, which was perhaps undiplomatic, but in the words of their inimitable team captain, Charles Darley: “Winning isn’t everything, but we didn’t come to lose.”

Lars Meunch, the FKY’s captain put it graciously, saying: “Races were lost, but friends were won.”

Ipsoregulated

This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here